Changing the heart of a wolf
by White Hunter
Summary: A wolf demon has been changed into a human for the crimes that he had comited on both human's and holy beings. Now Cyran must face his own past again while fighting against the darkness inside of him. R
1. Chapter 1

Changing the heart of a wolf

Chapter 1: Judgment and a new life

All was quiet in the night of the winter forest as snow fell slowly from the skies above, but the silence was soon broken when a shadow suddenly ran past a few snow covered trees in a blur.

"There he is!" shouted a male voice from out of nowhere.

"Don't let him get away!" ordered a female voice.

The shadowy figure kept running as it jumped from trees and bounded across the snow covered ground while it left behind large paw/foot prints on the ground and large claw marks on the bark of tree trunks. The figure in shadow soon came upon a clearing before coming to a stop in the center. The clouds within the sky slowly started to disperse as the snowflakes started to slowly disappear before the brightness of the full moon began to show its face. The darkness around the shadowy figure began to melt away as it reviled a terrifying beast with blood red fur covering its entire body. The beast had a black mane of fur which ran down the back of the creature's neck and all the way down before it ended between the shoulder blades. The beast stood on two legs like a man, but his figure had more of an animal feature than a human feature.

The beast was none other than a werewolf demon whose heart was dark and cold as ice; it was clear that this creature was male due to its tone of muscles showing on its arms and chest. The werewolf's black eyes wondered around the area he stood within the clearing with his senses were on high alert as his listened and waited for his chasers to make their move.

"Where are you, you pests?" growled the Werewolf as he glared at his surroundings.

All was quiet around the wolf demon as he stood his ground while waiting for his pressures to show themselves to him. The demon's wolf ears twitched for a moment as the werewolf listened to the sounds within the forest that surrounded him on both sides. The werewolf's right ear twitched when he suddenly heard a sound from behind him and quickly jumped ten feet into the air to dodge as golden chain shot out from a bush that stood behind the beast-man. The werewolf demon preformed a back flip twist within the air before he landed back down on the snow covered ground as he glared at the bush that stood before him. The wolf demon smirked when he sensed six more of his enemies surrounding him on all sides.

'_*Hump* if this is all that these holy beings have to offer me; then they must be even dumber than I thought,_' scoffed the demon through his mind.

The werewolf jumped into the sky again as he dodged six more chains that were thrown at him. The demon wolf floated in the air as he glared down at the forest below him.

"This game of cat and mouse ender her!" snarled the wolf demon as his body started to glow in a dark aura before he crossed his arms over his chest.

"_**Dark pulse!**_" shouted the werewolf.

The black aura around the demon's body grew darker and darker until it started to expand around him. The aura suddenly exploded within the clearing as it engulfed the entire forest area around the wolf-demon. After a few minutes, the explosion was over with the trees of the forest lying scorched and broken on the ground. In the clearing was a large crater and in the middle of the crater stood the werewolf demon with the wind ripping through the hairs of his fur, but he wasn't the only one that was residing within the crater that he had made. Lying on the ground in a circle around the wolf demon were seven human beings that were clayed in white and silver armor with their head bare of any protective head armor. All seven of the humans had golden/blonde hair that was either long or short upon their heads. There were four human males and three human females, but there was something off about these humans.

Behind the human's backs were large, pure white, wings that glowed in a pure bright light that shone around the seven humans. It was clear to see that these beings weren't ordinary humans; they were actually angels. The demon werewolf smirked as he looked at the seven angels that were scattered around him as they all lay on the ground unmoving.

"Too easy," boasted the wolf demon before he started to advance towards one of the younger male angels of the group.

The younger angel of the group began to slowly open his blue eyes; his vision was blurry for a moment, but is soon cleared and his blue eyes saw the demon werewolf walking towards him. The angel tried to get up, but found that he was unable to move or get up for that matter; he could only watch as the wolf demon stocking towards him like a predator facing down its prey. The wolf demon was soon standing over the fallen angel that lay on the ground before him as he bared his fangs into a smirk while the beast glared down at the holy being in front of him. The angel glared up at the wolf demon in spite and hatred within his blue eyes before the young being felt the wolf's powerful right claw/hand wrapping around his throat. The werewolf demon lifted the young angel up off the ground with ease as he held the holy being out in front of him. The beast drew back his left hand and got ready to drill his sharp claws into the angel's chest.

"Any last words, runt?" asked the werewolf.

The young angel was quiet for a moment before a smirked spread out across his face before he looked down at the werewolf in front of him: "Just too…you lose."

The wolf demon frowned as he looked at the angel in confusement before he suddenly felt something hot wrap around his left wrist and the demon quickly looked down to see what it was. His eyes widened when he saw a golden chain entangled around his arm. The same thing happened again when another chain encircled itself around the werewolf's neck with three more chains wrapping around his legs while the last chain wrapped around his right wrist.

"What the…?" started the werewolf, but he was quickly cut off when the chains around his body started to send out a large shock wave throughout his veins.

The pain of the electricity flowing threw his body made the werewolf lose his grip on the young angel and drop him while howling out in pain as he struggled to get out of his bonds that held him.

"Keep holding on to him, don't let him go!" shouted one of the older male angels as he held tight to his own chain.

"Yes sir!" shouted the other angels as the held on to their own chains.

The werewolf snarled and roared as he struggled against his bonds while he tried to break out of the chains that entangled around his body parts. The struggle lasted for about an hour until the wolf demon finally fell to the ground with a thud as electricity sparked around his body. The seven angels slowly walked towards their prey before they were all standing around the wolf demon's fallen body that lay limp on the ground before them.

"We finally got him," sighed the older angel of the group.

The older male of the angles was named Carter and he was the leader of the six angels that were assigned to capture the wolf demon that was causing chaos to the humans who live on earth. Carter was a little taller than the rest of his group and he was more muscle toned, than the other two male angels of the group. Crater was clam and organized when it came to capturing demons that run amuck on earth.

"Hey kid, you okay?" asked one of the younger female angels.

The young woman's name was Cleo and she was the tactic strategist of the group.

"Yeah, I'm fine Cleo," answered the younger angle boy.

The younger boy angel of the group was named Kai; he was only assigned to the group by a few hours before he went with the group on their mission so he is still a rookie that still had a lot to learn about demons.

"Man, this guy is such an annoying pest," grumbled a scruffy male angle as he glared down at the werewolf before him.

His name was Rick and he was one of the best warriors within the group to ever fight against a whole army of demons all by himself. Rick was a legend among the angels that protected the earth from the creatures who planed to plunge the earth into darkness.

"Tell me about it," spoke the older female angel whose long hair, which was more golden than the other angel's hair, grew down to her hips. "Yet it seems that this brut is losing his touch in trying to escape us."

The last member of the group Molly and she was the best fighter within this group. Crystal was the most dashing of all the angels within her clan, but she was the strongest and fastest member on the team.

"You can say that again Molly," stepped in Carter as he walked closer to the werewolf's limp body. "Now, let's get this monster back to Master Krisen."

The six angels nodded their heads in reply as they too stepped in closer around the wolf demon's body. The seven bodies of the angels started to glow in a blinding bright light as their wings unfolded from behind their backs. It light lasted for about a minute until it finally died down and the seven angels, with their captured beast, were gone.

Unknown location

It was about an hour when the werewolf demon began to awaken from his unconscious state. Slowly, his eyes opened as he let out a groan of pain. His vision was a little blurry at first, but it soon cleared after a few minutes and he soon saw what stood in front of him. In front of the werewolf demon were steel bars that trapped him from the outside world.

"W-where am I?" voiced the werewolf as he slowly raised his head up. "And, why does my body feel so heavy?"

Everywhere the wolf demon looked, he only saw darkness and the only light source was a candle that flickered through the bars of the cage that kept the demon behind them. The wolf noticed that he was standing with his back pressed against a flat wall of rock; he also noticed that his body was bounded to the wall by the same golden chains that he had been captured with.

"I see…" voiced the wolf demon as he chuckled deeply within his throat as he cast his eyes downwards towards the ground. "So, I've finally been caught at last by those holy beings; I must be losing my touch, or it could be that age has finally caught up to me over time."

Suddenly, the wolf demon was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him. The demon turned his eyes upwards as he watched from behind the steel bars, which separated him from the outside world as he watched the figure of the person appear within the candle light. The person that appeared before the wolf demon was none other than Molly, one of the two female angels from the group that had captured him.

"What do you want?" growled the demon.

"Cool your jets wolf, I just came to take one last look at you before you received your punishment," answered Molly as she stared at the werewolf in front of her.

"How thoughtful of you," the wolf joked with a fang smirk. "But it would have been better if nobody saw me in this pitiful state."

Molly frowned at the wolf demon in front of her: "I'll agree with you on that last statement, you use to be good friends with out leader; what made you change your ways?"

The smirk on the werewolf's face faded away as it turned into a frown. He lowered his eyes and head towards the ground; he became silent for a moment before he finally started talking again.

"We use to be friends," muttered the wolf demon to the female angel in front of him. "We were almost like brothers…your leader and I, but that changed when your master began to be more serious in his work that he didn't have time for playing with me anymore. It got worse for me when your master started ordering me around for his own uses. He always orders me to kill my own demon so he could protect the humans he loves and vowed to protect."

"Can you blame us?" spoke Molly. "We are holy beings that protect the humans who live on earth; but don't forget that some of us angels were once human too."

"I know," muttered the wolf again. "And that was what I hate about your leader; he'd used me as if I were his lapdog for his own needs that he didn't even see me as his friend anymore. I began to hate him more and more when he sent me to do all of hid dirty work for him until my heart finally became hard and cold as ice itself."

"I see…" Molly mused quietly to herself.

"Whether you believe me or not is something that I don't care about; for I am monster that will soon receive his judgment of the higher order at high noon tomorrow, or is it that day already?"

"No…your judgment time hasn't come yet," answered Molly with a shake of her head.

"I see," voiced the wolf demon in a low voice as he closed his eyes from the world around him. "I'd better catch up on my sleep then, because running from you and your team these last few months had really taken its toll on me."

"You're not worried about your judgment tomorrow?" question Molly with a confused look on her face.

"No," replied the wolf demon with out opening his eyes to look at the female angel in front of him. "But one thing is for sure; I will never forgive your master for what he had made me do to my kind."

"And our master will never forgive you either," added Molly in a low voice.

"I know," muttered the wolf demon before he fell silent.

Molly was about to speak to the wolf demon again when she suddenly heard a loud snore in front of her. She turned her eyes onto the werewolf and saw that he was the one making the noise. The wolf demon's furred chest rose up and down with his breathing as the chains held him up while he slept standing up. Molly watched the wolf demon for a few minutes before she suddenly felt her lips twitch into a smile.

'_Despite him being a demon; he's kind of cute when he sleeps,_' thought Molly in amusement before she turned away from the cage and started walking out of the dungeon.

Unknown to Molly is that the wolf demon was only pretending to sleep. Once the demon heard Molly's footsteps walking away from his cage; he decided to risk in taking a look. He slowly opened his eyes and watched Molly's form melt into the shadows of the dungeon once again, and he couldn't help himself as a smile formed on his face.

'_*hump* I have to admit; that female angel is cute,_' thought the wolf demon, but his smile soon turned into to a frown. '_But…even though she's beautiful, I can't fall in love with her; we're just too different from each other and I cannot love…for I am a demon who had killed many of her kind._'

With that thought in his head, the wolf demon closed his eyes and went into an uneasy sleep.

Hallway corridors

Molly had just left the dungeons and was now walking down a brightly lit hallway with the wall painted a bright white that if you look too hard; you'll wind up having a headache later on. The floors within the hallway were made out of white marble with a red, long, carpet stretching out on top of the surface. The hallway corridor was quite plain as Molly walked down it with her high heel boots making light thudding noises on the carpet. Molly couldn't get her mind off the wolf demon that she had talked to within the dungeon and for some reason; she felt sorry for the poor beast until her thought came to a halt spotted a familiar face in front of her. The person that Molly saw in front of her was Clark; he was leaning up against the side walls of the hallway with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes shut.

"Any news on what the demon's punishment will be?" asked Molly as she stopped in her tracks and stared at the male angel in front of her.

"Nothing so far," answered Clark without turning his head to look at Molly.

"I see," voiced Molly quietly as she looked down at the red carpet before her.

The two angels were silent for a moment before Clark began to speak again.

"Molly," started Clark as he turned his head to look at the female angel in front of him. "Our master, Krisen, had given us all a strict order and that is to never go down to the dungeons. He also told us that were to never interact with the demons that are imprisoned down there."

"I know Clark," spoke Molly in a low voice.

"Then why did you go down there?" questioned Clark in a demanding voice.

"Because I wanted to hear what the demon's side of the story was about," answered Molly truthfully to her captain.

"That is still against the rules," growled Clark in irritation. "If lord Krisen finds out about this, then who knows what he'll do to you."

"Don't tell me that you're going to be the one who's going to tell our leader about my disobedience?" questioned Molly with slight fear within her voice.

"No I won't be the one," replied Clark with a sight. "So just be glad that I'm your friend and that I'm always keeping you in line; other wise I would have punished you myself right here on the spot."

"Clark…" voiced Molly in surprise as she looked at the male angel before her.

The two stared at each other for a while until Clark let out a sigh before he pushed himself off the wall: "Let's go, the others are waiting for us in the meeting room."

Molly nodded her head in agreement before she followed after Clark down the hallway, but unknown to the two of them; they were being watched by someone.

The Dungeons

The wolf demon let out a few growls and groans within his sleep as the corners of the lips twitched every few minutes.

"N-no, stop it…"growled the wolf demon in the back of his throat as his claw hands tightened into fists.

_Dreamscape_

_The wolf demon found him self standing on a pillared platform with chains binding both of his wrists and ankles to the ground. The only thing that the wolf demon saw around was a wide vast of never ending darkness from where he stood on the pillar._

"_Where am I?" voiced the wolf demon in confusement._

_Just then, an image suddenly appeared in front of the wolf demon and what he saw made his eyes go wide upon his face. The demon saw him self in the image that was played out in front of him, but he also saw that he wasn't alone within the image for right beside him; he saw the very same female angel that he had been visited just a few hours ago. She was trapped by the same golden chains that also held the wolf demon. They were both being held up in the air by the chains that suspended them from the ground as their wrists were intertwined with the bonds that were attached by two rock pillars with strange writing scratched on the surface of them._

"_W-what the…why is that female angel with me?" questioned the wolf demon in shock._

_That was when the wolf demon spotted the lord of angels himself; Krisen. Krisen had the same colored hair that all of the other angels have, but his hair only grew down to his shoulders, and his wings were gold instead of white like the other angels wings. Krisen was wearing silk, white, robes and a golden cross hung around his neck._

"_Krisen…" growled the wolf demon in spite as he clenched his jaws in anger while balling his hands into fists._

_The angel lord began to speak within the image in front of the wolf demon, but no words could be heard from the lord's mouth. This got the wolf demon more annoyed as he strained his ears to figure out what lord Krisen was saying to him and the female angel beside him, but no matter how hard he tried the demon just couldn't hear anything that was being said in front of him. That soon changed when the demon saw that Krisen had stopped talking as he began to slowly raise his left hand with his finger pointing towards the female angel. Before the wolf demon knew what was happening; a beam of light suddenly shot out from the tip of the angel lord's middle finger. The werewolf's eyes went wide in shock as he watched the beam of light pierce through the female angel's chest. For a second, the werewolf felt his heart stop as he stared at the lifeless from of the female angel before._

"_Why…why did he kill her?" whispered the wolf demon in confusement._

_His confusement soon turned into anger as the darkness within his heart began to grow and develop around the wolf demon's body, but that was quickly stopped when a bright light suddenly appeared behind the wolf. The werewolf cranked his head over his shoulder to see where the light was coming from, but the light was too intense for him to look at._

"_W-what's going on?" shouted the wolf demon as he was blinded by the light._

Real world

The wolf demon shot his head up with a start as he awoke from his sleep with his eyes wide open in shock. The wolf panted as he tried to calm himself as his muscles tightened within his body and his senses going into over drive, but he soon relaxed after a few minutes of breathing.

"What the hell happened?" breathed the demon in confusement.

The wolf demon didn't have time to think for he was quickly brought out of his thoughts when his ears picked up the sound of footsteps coming towards him. The wolf demon stared out between the gaps between the bars of his cage. He saw two, well built, male angels walking towards him with the same type of armor that Molly and the other angels of her group wore. In their hands; they held the same golden chains that bounded the wolf demon to the wall of his cage.

"It's time to get up dog-boy," announced one of the male angels. "For your punishment has been moved up to today."

"What?" spoke the wolf demon in surprise, "What do you mean that my punishment has been moved?"

"It is not our business to tell you, demon," replied the second angel bluntly.

The werewolf glared at the two angels that stood him in front of the cage before him.

'_Something isn't right,_" thought the wolf demon as a frown showed up on his muzzle. '_Why would the lord himself suddenly change my judgment date?_'

Main Hallway

The wolf demon was lead down a long hallway to the council chamber while following the first angel in front of him with the second angel was following behind the wolf demon as he held onto the chains that bounded the demon's wrists behind his back. The werewolf kept his senses on high alert as he and the two angels walked down the pure white hallway with candles light on the side walls. The walk didn't last long as they doors to the council chamber appeared before the three.

The door was 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide as the wolf demon and two angels stood before its presents. Carved on the door were carvings of angels and other holy beings who were all standing under a large star that was glowing like the great sun that hung within the sky itself; the wolf demon stared hard at the carving of the holy beings for a moment when his eyes suddenly caught a figure within the picture. Standing in front of all the holy beings, with the star shining high about its head, was a wolf with a tall totem poll standing behind it.

'_Why is there a wolf on this door?_' wondered the wolf demon as he stared at the wolf standing within the picture.

He would have stared longer at the carving if it weren't for the doors opening to let the two angels and him self in, but once they had stepped into the council room; a horrible sight was met before the wolf demon. On the floor laid a female angel in a pool of red blood that stained the marble floor beneath the still body of the holy being. The wolf demon quickly recognized the female being in a heartbeat; for this was the very same angel that had talked to him when he was still in the dungeons behind the bars of his cage. Anger started to swell within the wolf demon's body as he began to bare his fangs before glaring up at the person who was responsible for this female's death sentence.

Sitting on the throne was Krisen himself. The lord of all angels was just like the wolf demon had saw in his vision that had been shown to him within his dreams. Krisen was wearing the very same robes and the cross that hung around the holy being's neck. The lord's face was devoid of any emotion that would cross his face. The wolf demon's black eyes connected with Krisen's blue orbs as they glared at each other with hatred and distrust.

"So we meet again, old friend," spoke Krisen as he looked down at the wolf demon before him.

"Were you the one who killed this girl?" growled the wolf demon as his muscles tightened within his body.

"This was what Molly had brought on herself," Krisen bluntly replied. "She'd broken our important rule within our clan, ant that is to never make contact with the demons that are locked up within the dungeons before trial."

"You low-life scum!" snarled the wolf demon as the last of his nerve snapped.

Without warning, a dark aura started to flare up around the wolf demon's body. The chains that were wrapped around his wrists began to weaken under the pressure of the dark aura until they suddenly snapped when the wolf demon ripped them apart with a flick of his wrist.

"Look out!" shouted one of the male angel escorts.

Before the second male escort could do anything; the wolf demon quickly slashed his right claw down on the angel's back before going after Lord Krisen in a fully out charge of rage. Krisen only sat on his throne as he stared at the incoming attacker flying towards him.

"Do you really believe that coming at me with full force will solve your problem?" questioned Krisen coolly.

"Shut up!" shouted the wolf demon before he slashed both of his claws down on the unmoving lord of angels.

That was when the wolf demon was taken off guard by a large barrier that suddenly appeared in between him and Krisen.

"What the hell!" shouted the wolf demon in shock and disbelief.

Time seemed to stop for a second before an explosion suddenly appeared as the blast blew the wolf demon into one of the council walls. The werewolf let out a loud roar as pain shot through his whole body before he fell to the floor with a loud, sickening thud. All was quiet within the room for a moment, but the silence was quickly broken as the wolf demon let out a groan as he tried to get up from the ground to attack Krisen again.

"I'm not down yet…"growled the wolf demon as he got up onto his feet slowly.

But the angel lord never gave the wolf demon the chance to attack him as his eyes started to glow while he stared intently at the wall behind the wolf. The werewolf only managed a small step when six silver chains suddenly form on the surface of the council wall before they shot out and entangled themselves around the wolf's battered body. The wolf demon was stunned for a moment before he was quickly jerked backwards into the wall and was pinned there by the chains that surrounded his body.

"My…my strength," groaned the wolf demon weakly.

"Those chains that are wrapped around your body are made out of the purest silver," explained Krisen bluntly as he looked down at the weak form of the wolf demon before him. "So no matter how much you struggle, those bindings will suck away your strength."

The wolf demon slowly lifted his head with great difficulty as he glared daggers at the angel lord while giving out a low growl from deep within his throat. The angel lord only stared down at the wolf demon before standing up from his throne and spreading his golden wings out from behind his back. Krisen rose up into the air as he flew over to the chained up werewolf demon before landing dangerously close in front of the beast with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Now isn't the time to play around," spoke Krisen in a dull voice. "You are only delaying the judgment of your fate that is about to come upon you."

"And what is my fate if I might ask?" questioned the wolf angrily in a weak voice.

Krisen didn't reply for a moment as he stared at the wolf demon in front of him before he answered the beast's question.

"I was thinking of executing you for the crimes that you had committed on both us holy beings and humans by kill us for your own pleasure." Krisen explained to the werewolf, "But I quickly realized that death is too good for you. So I've decided that since you hate humans so much; why not turn you into a human and I'm also going to erase your memory of ever being a demon as well."

The wolf demon's eyes widened in shock and fury as new strength started to flow within his body before he jerked on his chains and began snapping his fangs in front of Krisen's face. Krisen only stared at the wolf demon, unfazed by the beast's fierce actions.

"It is no use," spoke Krisen calmly. "Those chains are unbreakable."

The wolf demon soon stopped to catch his breath before he spoke his final words to the angel lord before him: "You may be able to change my mind and body into a human, but you can never erase the memories of what had happened between the past and here today; for they will always be engraved within the depths of my mind forever. I warn you now, a day will come when I will regain my memories and when I do then you'd better be on your guard."

Krisen's only reply to the threat made to him was by raising his right hand up near the wolf demon's chest as it crackled with electricity before slamming his palm into the demon's body. An electrical current coursed through the beast's body as the wolf demon roared out in pain before he fell silent as he fainted with the chain's holding his limp body up from falling to the ground. Krisen stepped back from the wolf as he watched the demon's body being surrounded by a blue aura before the wolf disappeared in a bright flash of light. Krisen only stood in his spot as he stared at the chains slowly melting back into the wall of the council room.

"Your threats mean nothing to me my friend," voiced Krisen calmly. "You are just a memory to me no and I will not be intimidated of you had said of what is to come."

"My lord!" shouted the angel escort.

At the shout, Krisen quickly turned around to see what was wrong and what he saw made his eyes widen in shock and anger. The reason for his sudden emotion change was a black raven that was standing on top of the dying form of Molly as it glared at the angel lord in front of its sight.

"What are you doing here!" shouted Krisen in anger as he glared at the raven before him.

The raven only cawed at the angel lord before it unfolded its wings from its body as a thick cloud of white mist started to appear and surrounded the raven and Molly's forms. The mist soon evaporated and Krisen that the raven and Molly were gone and the only thing that was left behind was the deep red pool of blood that stained the floor of the council room. Krisen frowned in anger before turning his attention on the two angels that had escorted the wolf demon into the council room and saw the wounded angel on the floor who was still alive and breathing.

"Take your partner to the recovery room then report back to me!" ordered Krisen with a wave of his hand.

"Yes sir!" answered the angel escort before he began to help his partner up onto his feet again.

As the two angels left the room while Krisen flew back to his throne and sat back down with the same frown on his face as he thought about the raven that had appeared within the council room.

'Why did she have to come into my domain?' wondered the angel lord in frustration. 'What was her purpose here?'

In a different time line: deep within the forest of the mountains

All was quiet within the darkness of the forest as the very same raven that had appeared within the council room within the angels realm was sitting on the branch of a tree while staring down at the entrance of a den where a female wolf had just give birth to four healthy wolf pups. The four pups were all nursing as the wolf mother watched her four cubs with a proud look within her eyes before gently licking a beautiful pure white female wolf pup with care. The raven watched the mother and the pups for a few more minutes before it finally spread its wings out to and took into the air where a full moon was shining brightly within the sky.

In a different location that was far away from the mountain's forest stood a town and in that town, something strange was about to happen and it is only a matter of time where two souls will meet each other again one day. The two of them will not remember there past, but will soon discover what they had once been many years ago.

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

Changing the heart of a wolf

Chapter 2: The new comer

All was quiet out on the Alaskan tundra as the bitter cold winds of the north blew across the snowy landscape while creating drifts within its wake. A wolf howl was heard across the land as a raven flew through the skies over head before it landed on the snow covered ground near a still body that was half covered by the frozen flakes of snow. The raven cawed loudly at the figure in front of it before jumping back into the air with a flap of its wings.

The figure within the snow moaned as it started to move before it began to slowly sit up on the ground. The figure was a young human boy who looked to be around 15 years old.

He had long black hair that grew down to the middle of his back and dark green amber eyes. He was wearing a green army jacket over a dark blue long sleeve shirt, black jeans and brown boots with a fur lining around the top edges. The teenager shook his head as he tried to clear the fog from his brain and vision.

"Ugh, where am I?" voiced the boy as he looked around the landscape before him. "And how did I get here? I can't… seem to remember."

He soon began to shiver when a cold wind suddenly blew past and over his body.

"Man, its cold out here," exclaimed the boy before he wrapped his arms around himself as he tried to keep himself warm. "Why did I have to wind up in a place like this?"

Suddenly, the raven from before started cawing above the boy's head as it flew around in the sky. The 15 year old looked up to see the raven circling above him as he stood up from the snowy ground and stared up at the bird in wonderment. The sight of the raven mesmerized the boy as he stared at how the bird could fly so gracefully within the air, but he was brought out of it when the raven started to fly away from him before landing on the ground that was 10 feet away from the boy. It turned its head and cawed at him.

The 15 year old looked at the raven oddly before he began to walk towards the bird, but when he two feet away from the raven the bird jumped back into the air again and flew another 10 feet away from the boy before it landed back down on the ground again. The 15 year quickly understood what the raven wanted him to do.

"Do you want me to follow you?" asked the boy curiously to the raven.

The raven cawed again as if to say 'yes' before flying off again with the boy running after it. The 15 year old chased after the raven for about an hour before a thick fog suddenly appeared around him as if from out of no where.

"Wait!" shouted the boy as he began to search for the raven through the thick fog. "I can't follow you in this, where are you?"

There was no reply from the raven as the 15 year old wondered around within the fog for a moment before it slowly began to clear from around him. The boy soon dropped his gaze from the sky as he gave up looking for the raven, but what he saw in front of him made him jump with joy and relief. Standing before him, just a few hours walk, was a small town.

"Oh, thank goodness," muttered the 15 year old with a smile. "Hopefully I can find someone within that town to help me."

Just then the boy's stomach began to growl with hunger: "Maybe even find something to eat there too."

With his mind made up, the boy began to run while sliding down the hill that he had been standing on just a few moments ago.

In town

The 15 year old wondered around the snowy street roads as he looked at all of the houses and shops within the small town.

"Wow," breathed the boy as he took in the sights of the town. "This town sure is peaceful; I could get use to a place like this."

That was when the boy's stomach reminded him that he should look for food. The 15 year old glared down at his midsection for a moment before he started looking around to see if there was any place where he could get a bite to eat so that he can quiet his hunger. That was when he stopped in front of an alleyway. He saw a meat shop and outside of the meat shop was a rope of sausages that were dangling on the metal hook rack.

'_Alright, score!_' thought the boy as he rubbed his hands together as he licked his lips in hunger. '_Now all I have to do is get those sausages without the owner of the shop noticing me._'

Slowly, the 15 year old walked into the alley before he quickly hid behind some crates when he saw the owner of the shop come walking out of the back door. The owner hung up a slab of meat on another hook that was right near the sausages before he went back into his shop while closing the door behind him. The boy slowly peeked out from around the crates to make sure that the shop keeper was back inside his shop before the he quickly made his move. The 15 year old slowly went into a crouch as he started to crawl on his hands and feet as he headed towards the rope of sausages like a wolf that was hunting down his own prey. The boy was just only a few feet away from the rope of sausages as he slowly stood back up onto his feet again to get a better height in grabbing them.

"Come to papa," whispered the 15 year old as he slowly reached out towards the sausages.

But just as he was about to grab them, a grey blur suddenly jumped out from the shadows of the alley and grabbed the sausages before the 15 year old touch them.

"Hey!" shouted the boy in anger as he glared at the being that had snatched his lunch.

The blur soon reviled itself to be a dog with grey/brown fur and dark brown ears. It had white patches around its red/brown golden eyes and front paws. It turned its head to look at the 15 year old boy for a moment before it dashed out of the alley.

The 15 year old growled as he clenched his hands into fists: "No one takes steals my lunch and gets a way with it!"

With that, the 15 year old quickly gave chase as he ran after the dog that stole his food. The dog quickly made a sharp right turn as it headed down the street with the boy right on its tail. The teenager nearly slipped on a patch of ice when he rounded the same corner and almost fell flat down on his back, but he quickly regained his footing and continued his chase with the dog.

"You get back here with those sausages!" shouted the teenager at the top of his lungs.

The dog only looked back over its shoulder to glance at the boy before turning to face strait ahead of it again. The dog quickly took another quick turn into another alley as it started leaping onto crates as it climbed up them before it jumped over the fence that made up the dead end of the alley. The teenager just came around the corner as he quickly skidded to a stop. The boy saw the dog as it leaped over the fence and landed on the other side.

"You're not getting away that easily," muttered the teen as he ran into the alley.

The 15 year old quickly began to climb the crates before vaulting over the fence and landing on the other side. The teen crouched as he landed on his feet while he panted to catch his breath again. He looked around to see if he could find the dog, but saw no sign of the stray.

"Ugh!" groaned the teen in anger. "Where the heck is that mutt?"

That was when he looked down and saw the paw prints of the animal near his feet. The teen smirked before he began to follow the trail at a sprint until he came to the place where the tracks lead into a narrow space between two houses.

"I have to admit, this dog is good," voiced the teen as he slowly crept into the narrow space.

The teen slowly walked into the narrow alley as he prepared to have the upper hand in ambushing the dog, but the trail soon came to an end as it lead the 15 year old to a dead end. The teenager frowned as he stared at the fence for a moment then looked back down at the paw prints of the dog that he was chasing.

"This doesn't make any sense," muttered the teen as he scratched the back of his head in confusement. "The paw prints lead into here, so how can a dog just disappear into thin air?"

The teen gripped the top edge of the fence and began to lift him self up off the ground before looking over the other side to see if there were any more paw prints there, but saw none what so ever. The teen frowned before he turned his head to the left to see the low roof of the house and saw the dog's paw prints once again.

"Clever," the teen chuckled as he hoisted himself up on top of the fence.

He made sure to balance himself before he slowly stood up. The teen slowly crept along the fence before he jumped onto the lower roof and began to climb up it. The climb was slow yet steady for the teen as he made it to the top and that was when he saw the same dog stand on the roof in front of him.

"I got you this time," the teen hissed as he stood on top of the roof and began to run towards the dog.

The dog saw the teen coming towards it and acted quickly by jumping to another roof top. The boy quickly followed after the dog as he jumped to the same roof, but he nearly fell off when his right foot slipped off the edge. The teen gave a small yelp of surprise before he suddenly found himself hanging of the edge of the house that he leapt onto. The teen let out a sigh of relief before he quickly pulled himself together as he climbed back onto the roof top and began to give chase once again.

The chase on the roof tops continued for about an hour with the dog always one step ahead of the boy, but the teen would always catch up with the dog as his hunger kept him going for he was not going to give his lunch up to some stray. The teen had almost caught the dog on one of the roof tops, but was quickly out foxed when the dog ducked underneath him before jumping to the next roof or balcony. The boy was getting fed up with this game of cat and mouse.

'_This is getting old,_' thought the teen in frustration. '_There's just got to be a way in catching this dog._'

That was when an idea popped into the teenager's head. At the next roof top, the boy quickly jumped down from the roof top that he was running on and fell down towards the snowy ground of an alley where a large snowdrift broke his fall. It took a minute for the teenager to scramble out of the snowdrift before he started chasing the dog on the ground, but he would always make sure he hid in the shadows while keeping his eyes upwards towards the roof tops. The boy would catch gimps of the dog that had stolen his sausages before he ran towards the end of the house. He would then stopped again and repeat the process.

The boy followed the dog on the ground for an hour until the dog finally descended from the roof tops and landed in an alley that had a large fence blocking its way. The alley didn't have any crates for the dog to climb up and the fence didn't have any large holes for the dog to crawl through either. The dog set down the sausages as it began to look around the alley when its ears quickly caught the sound of snow crunching under a human's footsteps. The dog quickly turned around and saw the human teenager standing in front of the only exit out of the alley.

"Okay fur ball, give it up!" exclaimed the 15 year old as he glared at the dog in front of him. "Those sausages are mine and I'm going to take them back, whether you like it or not."

The dog bared its fangs at the boy before it began to growl as a male voice began to speak from the dog's mouth: "I was the one who saw them first, so go find your own sausages!"

When the boy heard what the dog said, he began to growl just like the K9 in front of him: "I don't think so fur face, I saw those sausages first and I'm going to take them back no matter what!"

The dog stopped growling as it stared at the boy in surprise: "You can understand me?"

The boy blinked as realization suddenly dawned on his face before he shook his head to clear his brain.

"Okay…I'm starting to lose my mind," muttered the teenager as he scratched the back of his head while he looked up at the sky above him. "First I wake up out in the mild of the tundra, then I follow this strange raven before I lost it in a thick fog, I soon came to this town to find food only to wind up chasing a dog that had stolen the first meal that I found in this town and now I'm talking to a dog. I must have been knocked out on that tundra a lot longer than I thought, because now I'm starting to hear things."

"Unless we're both hearing things then I don't think that you are losing your mind," stated the dog as it sat down while staring at the boy with its brown/red eyes curiously. "Just where exactly did you come from?"

"I don't really know," answered the teenager with a shrug of his shoulders as he turned to look at the dog in front of him again. "All I remember was waking up on the tundra a mile away from this town. Um…do you know what the name of this town is?"

"This town is called Nome, and you're in Alaska if you're wondering about that too," replied the dog.

"Nome, Alaska?" repeated the 15 year old. "I've never heard of these places before."

The dog frowned in thought at what the boy had said before the sound of growling was heard between the dog and the boy. The teen looked down at his midsection in annoyance before he flopped down on the snow covered ground with a groan.

"I'm so hungry, I gotta eat something right now!" complained the boy in anger before he rested his right cheek in the palm of his hand as a frown formed on his face.

The dog looked at the boy for a moment before a smile crossed his face. The stray picked up the rope of sausages before he walked over to the 15 year old human. The teen blinked in surprise when the dog came up to him with the rope of sausages in his mouth before the stray placed the rope down in front of the teen.

"You can have them, you need them more than I do," said the dog kindly.

The boy looked down at the rope of sausages before turning his gaze back on the dog then smiled.

"How about we share them?" suggested the boy. "We'll split the amount of sausages between us."

"That sounds like a good idea," replied the dog with an approval nod.

So it was decided between the two, the boy and dog split the sausages between them as they sat down to eat their lunch while they began to talk to each other.

"So who are you, if you don't mind me asking?" asked the boy curiously to the dog in front of him.

The dog swallowed before he answered the boy's question: "My name is Balto, the wolf/dog stray of Nome."

"Wolf/dog?" repeated the boy in a confused tone.

"Yeah," replied the dog, Balto, with a nod of his head. "Let's just say that I'm a mix of a husky and wolf that had interbred with each other."

"That's pretty cool," commented the boy in fascination.

"You're the only one who thinks so," said Balto sadly as his ears dropped down the sides of his head. "In Nome, the people here only see me as a wild animal."

"Um…not to seem rude or anything, but you don't look much like a wild animal to me nor act like one for that matter," stated the 15 year old before he took a bite out of his fourth sausage.

"You really think so?" asked the stray gently.

The teenager swallowed before answering Balto's question: "Yeah, besides a wolf wouldn't show compassion towards those who are on their last leg in hunger."

Balto had to chuckle at that statement for the boy did have a good point. A wolf would never show sympathy to prey or any other creature outside of their species, but soon another question popped up within the wolf/dog's head.

"Do you have any place to stay for tonight?" asked Balto curiously.

The boy froze on the question that Balto had asked him before looking down at the ground sadly.

"No, I haven't found a place where I can stay yet," replied the boy with a shake of him head.

Balto frowned in thought before an idea came knocking into his head: "Well, if you don't have a place to stay for tonight then you're more than welcome to stay at my boat for a while."

The teen looked up at Balto in surprise: "Are you sure? I mean…I don't want to be a burden or anything."

"It's no problem," reassured Balto with a smile. "But I have to warn you that it's nothing fancy or anything."

"That's alright," said the teenager with a wave of his left hand. "As long as I have a place to stay then I'm perfectly fine with it."

"That's a relief," replied Balto with a chuckle. "Now I have another question for you."

"Fire away."

"Do you have a name?" asked Balto.

That question had completely caught the boy off guard as he scratched the back of his head nervously. What was his name? No matter how hard the teen tried he just can't seem to remember who he was until something started to form within the back of his head. A memory began to appear as his vision began to change before him.

Memory flashback

_The images were a little blurry, but the 15 year old could hear the words and voices of people very clearly within his ears. People were shouting and screaming as blurs ran past his vision. The flashback continued for about a few more minutes until he heard one of the voices shouting at the blurs that were running in front of him._

"_Run for your lives, it's the wolf demon Cyran!"_

End of flashback

The boy blinked as his vision became normal again before he shook his head to clear the fog from his mind once again.

"You okay?" asked Balto in concern.

"Y-yeah," stammered the 15 year old as he held the side of his head. "I just had a flashback moment, but I think I know what my name is."

"Really, what is it?" asked Balto curiously.

"I think my name is…Cyran," replied the 15 year old.

"Cyran…" echoed Balto as he tested out the name. "Hmm…I've never heard of a name like that before, but if that's your name then who am I to complain."

Cyran smile at Balto before he finished off the last of his sausages. He soon stood up from the snow covered ground as he dusted off the bits of snow from his pants.

"Well, I'm going to go tour around Nome for a while," announced Cyran.

"You mind if I come along?" asked Balto.

"Sure," answered Cyran with a nod. "Besides, I am new around here so I don't know much about this place."

"Then I guess that'll make me your tour guide then," joked Balto as he stood up from the ground. "Come on, I'll show you around."

With that, the boy and wolf/dog walked out of the alley together while they talked with one another as a friendship began to form between them. Balto showed Cyran around Nome while answering any questions that the young teen wanted to asked of him and when the teen had ran out of questions the two of them turned towards jokes. The jokes soon turned towards stories as Balto told Cyran about what had happened to Nome two weeks ago.

"So let me see if I got this strait," spoke Cyran as he looked down at the wolf/dog that was walking beside him as Balto finished telling the teen his story on how he saved Nome. "The kids in this town had been plagued with a deadly disease called diphtheria and the only way to cure them was a special medicine called antitoxin, right?"

"Yep," answered Balto with a nod of his head.

"Okay, so the only way to get the antitoxin here to Nome was for a team of sled dogs to travel to Nenana and bring the medicine back here through a raging storm. And the one who was going to lead the team was a male husky named Steel, a dog that you had a rivalry with over a beautiful female husky."

"Yeah," replied Balto again as a blush form under his fur.

Cyran only smiled at the wolf/dog before he continued on with the replay of Balto's story: "But the storm was so bad that Steel and his team missed their check point and in the process they were lost in the wilderness as a blizzard blinded them so they didn't know which way was home. So you and a few of your friends had to go out into the wilderness to find Steel's team, but you soon had to finding them on your own after Jenna got injured by a large grizzly bear that you had encountered on your journey. But when you found the team, Steel began to fight with you over the glory of being the hero of Nome, yet his own pride was his down fall and you soon took over as leader for the sled team. Boy, you sure did have an adventure in taking up the responsibility of saving this town from a deadly disease while fighting against the odds that got in your way."

"But it was worth it," said Balto. "I'm just glade that I was able to help the kids in Nome, especially Rosy."

"Rosy sounds like a good kid," stated Cory. "If you hadn't got that medicine back here in time then…I don't even want to think about what would have to this town."

"Me neither," agreed Balto with a nod of his head before he looked up at the sky above him. The wolf/dog noticed that the sky was getting darker. "Well we'd better head back to my boat for the day."

Cyran looked at Balto in surprise before he too turned his gaze towards the sky.

"I guess that we lost track of time, huh?" joked Cyran as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Balto laughed before he started to lead Cyran towards his home as they headed out of town towards the seashore. Cyran was following behind Balto, but quickly he stopped when he sensed a presence from his far right. The teen turned his eyes towards a high hill and saw a group of wolves standing on the horizon as they stopped to look at him. They consisted of three adults and two wolf pups that stuck close to a female grey wolf. Cyran looked at the wolves as a familiar memory came back to him, a memory that was a sad one as he stared at the wolf family before him.

The alpha male of the pack stared at Cyran for a moment before he threw his head back and howled out towards the boy. Cyran only looked at the wolf before he turned his head away from the alpha and his pack as he began to walk away so that he could catch up with Balto, but the same cold heartache still lingered within him as he felt the shame of not answering the alpha's greeting. Balto had just stop only a few feet away from Cyran when he noticed that the teen wasn't following him anymore and he saw that the boy had stopped to look at a family of wolves.

The wolf/dog was surprise that the leader of the wolf family had howled out towards Cyran in greeting, but the boy merely ignored the greeting as he continued to walk on while the wolf pack watched him before they disappeared behind the hill. Balto noticed the sad look with in the boy's eyes as Cyran walked towards him.

'_I wondered what had happened to Cyran that would make him lose his memories,_' thought Balto as he waited for the young boy to catch up with him.

The two of them continued to walk on wards towards Balto's home questions began to pass through both human and wolf heads. Who was he? And where did he come from? Those questions will soon be answered in due time as the two of them will take a journey through Cyran's past that will test their loyalty and friendship with each other.

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

Changing the Heart of a Wolf

The Goose, the Bear Cubs, and the Dream

Cyran was quiet throughout the walk with Balto striding alongside the 15 year old while looking up at the human boy in silent worry. The wolf-dog had only known this teenager for half a day and already he felt as if Cyran was his lifelong friend. Finally, Balto nudged Cyran's right hand with his nose and that got the teenager to look down at him.

"You alright Cyran?" asked Balto as his gentle brown eyes stared up at the young human boy beside him.

"Yeah," replied Cyran with a nod. "I just had a few things on my mind right now, but it's nothing too serious."

Balto wasn't really all that convinced with Cyran's answer to his question, but the wolf-dog didn't want to push the teenager. He decided to wait until the boy was ready to open up to him. The two continued to walk on in silence until they came to Balto's home and Cyran had to say that it wasn't what he thought it would be.

Balto's home was an old boat that had washed up on the beach many years ago. It wasn't a large boat but it was a pretty good size for anyone who wanted to live on it. The boat had a large hole in its side and it was a dull brown color and on top of the boat's deck was a cabin that still looked to be in good shape.

Cyran scratched the back of his head as he tried to find the right words to say about Balto's home, but the wolf-dog beat the teenager to the punch.

"Yeah, I know" Balto chuckled. "It's not much, but its home."

"Well…I guess I can't complain" said Cyran as he followed Balto up onto the boat. "And as the saying goes: Home is where you hang your hat."

"Well, you're welcome to stay here for as long as you want Cyran," said Balto as he turned around to face the teenager once they came to stand on the deck of the ship.

"Thanks" said Cyran with a nod. "I'll make sure that I won't cause any trouble around here."

"I'm sure you won't," said Balto in a good natured voice.

"Balto!" shouted a Russian voice from out of nowhere.

The sudden shout really startled Cyran out of his wits as he almost jumped ten feet into the air, but he soon calmed down before he spoke to Balto again.

"Who or what was that?" asked Cyran curiously.

"That would by my friend Boris," answered Balto with a smile.

Cyran looked at Balto in befuddlement: "Who?"

The teenager didn't wait long for an answer when the owner of the Russian voice revealed himself to the 15 year old. Walking out from around the corner of the cabin was a male snow goose. Cyran was surprised to see a bird living on the same boat with Balto, but he wasn't about to make a comment about it.

"Where have you been?" questioned the goose, now known as Boris, as he continued on with his rant. "I've been waiting for hours and-Ah!"

Boris quickly came to a halt when he finally noticed Cyran standing beside Balto.

"What is this human doing here?" shouted the goose in surprise as he pointed a feathered finger at Cyran.

"Easy Boris," Balto said calmly to the goose. "He's a friend."

"A friend huh?" said Boris in a disbelieving voice. "Then tell me, why exactly is a human boy here on our boat?"

"Because I'm looking for a place to stay for a while if you must know," spoke Cyran as he answered the goose's question himself.

Boris squawked as his wings flared out in surprise when he realized that the human had understood him. The teenager let out a chuckle while Balto rolled his eyes as he smiled in amusement.

"That…that boy understood me!?" exclaimed Boris as he stared wide eyed at the 15 year old in front of him.

"It was a surprise for me too," said Balto before he started introduce Boris to Cyran. "Boris, I want you to me Cyran, a boy that I bumped into on the streets of Nome."

"More like a run in," muttered Cyran in good humor.

Balto chuckled at what Cyran said before he spoke to Boris again: "I've invited Cyran to stay with us for a while."

The bottom of Boris's beak dropped open in shock and disbelief at what Balto had said about the boy staying with them.

"T-this human is going to be living here, with us?" questioned Boris with a splutter.

"Yes, he is," answered Balto with a firm nod of his head.

Boris stared wide eyed at Balto for a moment before he slapped his left wing over face: "Oi, you have finally lost your marbles boy chick."

Cyran smiled in amusement and was about to make a comeback on Boris's sentences when he suddenly started to smell something in the air, something really…fishy.

"Um…Balto, do you smell something?" asked Cyran curiously.

Balto looked up at Cyran for a moment before he began to sniff the air himself.

"I smell," started Balto before a smile formed over his muzzle, "Herring."

"Herring?" echoed Cyran in befuddlement.

Boris, who had let his wing fall from his face, had a worried look forming on his face after he heard what Balto and Cyran had said.

"Oh, no," muttered Boris in dread, "Not them again."

"Them?" echoed Cyran, even more confused on what exactly was going on around him, "Them who?"

"Muk and Luk," answered Balto. "They're a couple of polar bear cubs that we had befriended a few years ago."

"Ah, now I get it," said Cyran when he finally understood what the two were talking about.

Suddenly, the teenager heard a young male voice, which had an Australian accent to it, shouting from 10 feet away from the boat.

"Uncle Boris!" called the voice.

The goose went ridged for a moment before he quickly grabbed a mop and pointed the wooden handle in front of him like a javelin.

Cyran began to snicker in amusement: "How sweet, Uncle Boris."

"You wouldn't find it so funny if you have two polar bear cubs clinging to you all the time!" exclaimed Boris as he glared at the teenager that stood beside him.

"Like that polar bear cub that's running towards you?" asked Cyran as he pointed to the goose's right.

Boris looked at the teenager in befuddlement for a moment before he turned to look in the direction where the teenager was pointing towards and let out a gasping shriek. Running towards the goose was a small polar bear cub that only came up to Cyran's knees. Boris quickly raised the handle of the mop up in front of him with his eyes shut tightly as he waited to be tackled to the ground. A second pasted before Boris opened one of his eyes and soon the other when he saw that polar bear cub was sitting in front of him, with the wooden mop handle slightly poking against the cub's chest. The goose let out a sigh and took a step back while dropping the mop down on the ground, but he soon bumped up against a fat stomach of another polar bear cub that came up behind him.

Cyran let out a loud burst of laughter as he watched the goose getting engulfed in a big bear hug by the second polar bear cub that he had bumped into. The first cub, the one who had called out Boris's name, spoke as the second bear cub licked the side of Boris's left cheek.

"Luk and I missed you Uncle Boris," said the bear cub in excited voice. "We just couldn't wait to see you again."

Cyran knelt down beside Balto and he began to talk with the wolf-dog in a low voice.

"I'm guessing that this happens often," whispered Cyran with a smirk played out across his face.

"All the time I'm afraid," Balto chuckled.

Cyran and Balto soon turned their attention back on Boris, who finally got out of Luk's bear hug. Boris quickly shook himself to unruffled his feathers before the goose began to grumble as he began to gather up some loose feathers that had fallen off his body. Cyran caught the words the goose was mumbling under his breath quite easily.

"If the end of this day wasn't bad enough," voiced Boris as he started sticking his feathers back onto his body. "First, Balto brings back a strange human that can _somehow_ understand animal language. And now I have two polar bear cubs coming here while bombarding me with hugs and kisses."

Cyran chuckled as he shook his head while he watched the goose grumble for a few seconds before he turned his attention on the two bear cubs. The two cubs were staring at Cyran in fear, yet they were also curious about him as well. The 15 year old felt a little uncomfortable with the two polar bear cubs staring at him and didn't know how to respond to all this tensed silence. Balto noticed the teenager's discomfort and quickly decided to help Cyran out.

"It's alright you two," said Balto as he reassured the polar bear cubs in front of him. "This human is a friend. His name is Cyran. I just met him in Nome this evening. Cyan, I would like you to meet Muk and Luk, the two polar bear cubs that I told you about."

"Hi there," said Cyran as he greeted the cubs with a friendly wave of his right hand.

"Oh…uh, hello," greeted Muk as he got over his shock of seeing a human. "My name is Muk and this is Luk."

The other polar bear cub, now known as Luk, waved at Cyran as he too got over the shock of seeing a human standing in front of him.

Cyran smiled at the two cubs in front of him: "Its pleasure to meet you guys."

"Hump…that's what you say now," spoke Boris as he stood on an empty crate as he finishing off in stick the last of his feathers back onto his body. "But after a few weeks with those bears you'll find out that it's not so nice."

"Oh, come on Boris," said Cyran as he turned to look at the Russian snow goose. "You can't really blame these guys for liking you. After all, you are their Uncle."

Boris glared at Cyran for a moment before he turned his attention on the polar bear cubs. The goose frowned when he saw Muk and Luk's sad faces as the two cubs looking down at the ground in sadness. Boris let out a sigh as he slapped the palm of his wing against his forehead.

"Oi…Okay, okay," muttered Boris before he called out to the two polar bear cubs, "Hey boy chicks, how about a game?"

Muk and Luk quickly got excited after they heard what Boris had said for they were always up for a game.

"Good idea Boris and I know just the game that we should _all_ play," said Cyran with a smirk before he turned to look at Muk and Luk. "How do you guys feel about a game of tag?"

"Oh, yes, yes, please!" exclaimed Muk with a smile as Luk nodded his head in agreement to the idea.

"Alright then," said Cyran before he looked at Boris and Balto. "So how about it guys, want to join in?"

Balto thought for a moment before he replied to Cyran's question: "Sure, why not, a quick game of tag might be rather nice."

"And what about you _Uncle _Boris, are you going to join in?"

Boris frowned for a moment before he finally answered Cyran's question: "Okay, fine…I'm in."

"Great, you're it!" shouted Cyran as he quickly ran across the boat's deck and jumped over the railing of the boat.

Cyran soon landed on the snow covered ground before he continued to run across the beach. Balto and the two polar bear cubs quickly followed after Cyran with Boris shouting after them.

"Hey, why do I have to be it!?" yelled the snow goose as he chased after the foursome.

"Because you're the slowest one among us!" shouted Cyran in good humor.

Boris groaned before he muttered to himself: "I'm getting too old for this."

The group of unlikely individuals played for a long time until the sun completely disappeared from the sky and the five soon retired to Balto's boat for the night. Balto offered Cyran his blanket so that the teenager wouldn't get too cold during the night. Cyran thank Balto before he settled himself against the wall of cabin and drifted off into a deep sleep. Balto laid close beside Cyran as the wolf-dog gave the 15 year old his body heat. Muk and Luk were also giving Cyran their warmth as well for they had taken a liking to the teenager right off the bat.

Boris was sleeping not far from the foursome as the goose sat in the corner that was on Balto's right side. The group slept in silent bliss for a while, but Cyran soon started to twitch and pant within his sleep. The teenager was being plagued by a terrible nightmare that was making Cyran's heart race over its normal speed rate.

Dream world

_Cyran was running across the snow covered ground as fast as his legs would carry him. All around was darkness that covered every direction with the glow of the moon being the only light for the teenager as it hung high within the night sky. The first thing that Cyran noticed as he ran was that he was on all fours, which gave him more speed than ever before. The second thing he noticed was that he was being chased by 6 or 8 shadowy beings._

_The teenagers pursuers had giant wings the glowed as pale as the moon itself. They flew behind Cyran as the 15 year old ran and they were getting closer with every second. Cyran didn't dare look back as he forced himself to look forward. He soon saw a giant black mountain rising up ahead of him. The mountain was covered in a thick white mist and on top of the mountain shined something that resembled a star._

'_What is that?' thought Cyran curiously._

_Suddenly, from far ahead of him, Cyran heard the cry of a female wolf. It sounded like a call for help, but what kind of help? Cyran, unfortunately, would never find out. One of Cyran's pursuers suddenly shot an arrow in the 15 year old boy's right back leg and that brought Cyran crashing to the ground. The young teenager slowly raised himself up from the ground before he turned to glare at the approaching figures that were descending towards him. In their hands were glowing, silver chains of light. Something about those chains sent a wave of fear through Cyran's body as his eyes widened in terror._

_The shadowy beings drew closer to him with every second the teenager drew in breath as he watched helplessly where he laid. But the shadowy beings soon disappeared in a wisp of smoke when Cyran suddenly felt himself being awakening by a voice that was calling out his name._

"_Cyran…Cyran, wake up!"_

End of the dream

Cyran began to stir when he suddenly felt someone rubbing their head against his shoulder. The teenager slowly opened his eyes before glancing down his right arm to see Balto rubbing his head against the boy's arm.

"Balto?" muttered Cyran in confusion.

"Hey, good morning," greeted Balto with a smile as he drew his head back to look at the boy in front of him.

Cyran looked at wolf-dog for a moment before he turned his eyes upwards to see the rays of sunlight pouring through the windows of the cabin.

'_Boy, I must have really slept,_' thought Cyran as he rubbed his left hand against his eye to wake himself up a little more.

Cyran soon noticed that he and Balto were the only ones in the cabin.

"Where are Muk and Luk, and Boris for that matter?" asked Cyran out of curiosity.

"Muk and Luk are out playing on the tundra somewhere," answered Balto. "As for Boris, He's probably looking for herring."

"You're probably right," said Cyran with a chuckle before he let out a yawn.

Balto also let out a chuckle after he saw the 15 year old yawn in front of him.

"I hope you're not too tired to help me in find some breakfast today," said Balto as he stood up on his paws.

At the mention of breakfast, Cyran's stomach began to growl. Embarrassment crossed over the teenager's face as the 15 year old smiled sheepishly at the wolf-dog before he too stood up from the ground as well.

"Well…since you mentioned breakfast, let's go!"

And with that said, the two friends took off towards Nome in search of their breakfast, but the dream that Cyran had last night was still running fresh within the teenager's mind and he kept wondering what that dream meant. Was it something from his past? Whatever it meant, Cyran wasn't going to think on an empty stomach.

To be continued

Sorry for the long wait everyone. I hope you all like this chapter.

White Hunter, howling out to you and the spirits!


	4. Chapter 4

Changing the Heart of a Wolf

Dreams and New Family Members

A few days have passed for Cyran ever since he moved into Balto's home and things were going great for the 15 year old. Boris had grown used to having the young human teenager living on the boat with him and Balto. The polar bear cubs had grown attached to Cyran and were constantly visit him. As for Balto, he began to see Cyran as a younger brother and he would spend almost his whole days with the human boy. On one of those days, Cyran got the chance to meet Balto's mate, Jenna.

Jenna was a beautiful female husky with red and white fur and brown eyes. She wore an orange bandana around her neck. At first, Jenna was a bit surprised that Cyran could understand her, but soon got over it as she got to know Cyran. The two quickly became good friends with each other near the end of the day. So, on some days, Jenna would join Cyran and Balto on their walk through the town and would talk about a few things that were new to the young 15 year old. For Cyran, ever since he came to Nome he felt like he belonged here, but the 15 year old also felt like there was something he had to do outside of town.

It was night time on the tundra as Cyran and Balto were getting ready to go to sleep. It was a cool spring night as Cyran up curled underneath Balto's blanket while the wolf-dog leaned his back up against Cyran's as the two slept on the floor of the boat that night. Cyran was sleeping peacefully for a while until he started letting out a small moan that no one could hear. Again, Cyran was dreaming that nightmare. It had been happening for a while now, but Cyran never said a word about it to Balto or anyone else because he didn't want them to worry. Sweat began to drip down the teenager's forehead while his heart started to beat faster within his chest.

Dream World

_Cyran found himself running on all fours again with the winged figures flying close behind him. The beings started to shoot arrows at him but he quickly avoided them by bobbing and weaving across the icy plane. Cyran panted as he pushed his legs to the limit._

'_I have to keep running,' thought Cyran as he felt his heart pound against his ribcage. 'If I stop now they'll get me.'_

_The arrows continued to rain down on him, but they soon ceased as a thick mist started to surround Cyran. The 15 year old began to slow down when he saw that the winged figures weren't chasing him anymore. Cyran slowed to a walk before completely stopping within his tracks._

"_Where am I?" panted Cyran as he looked at his surroundings._

_All Cyran could see was a thick curtain of mist that surrounded him on all sides. The 15 year old didn't know where to go for he was confused on which way to move. Suddenly, Cyran heard the sound of wings flapping and they were coming towards him from his far right._

"_Not again," muttered Cyran with a groan._

_The 15 year old quickly went into a sprint as he took off in the opposite direction. Cyran felt his lungs burning as he ran to escape the wing beats that were coming up right behind him._

'_Feet don't fail me now!' thought Cyran as he forced his legs to move faster._

_Cyran sprinted for what seemed like hours until he quickly came to a stop as he became aware of something or someone was standing right in front of him._

_Standing within the thick mist, Cyran saw a shadowy figure. It stood on all fours like Cyran was doing and its shape was that of a wolf. The figure was a foot higher than Cyran as it toward over the 15 year old in a menacing way._

_Cyran felt a growing fear rising up within his stomach as he stared straight up at the figure in front of him._

"_Who…who are you?" asked Cyran in a small voice._

_The figure's only response to Cyran's question was a growl as its eyes began to glow a bright yellow. Cyran's eyes widened as he stared into the figures yellow eyes while a strange feeling began to arise within him. The feeling didn't last long when he suddenly felt something cold and wet being splashed on him and he quickly woke up._

End of the Dream

Cyran quickly shot up with his eyes wide in shocked surprise. Balto was also awake with the same expression on his face. Cyran felt a few droplets of water falling down from the bangs of his wet hair as he glared at the one who had dumped water on both him and Balto. Boris was standing in front of Cyran and Balto with an empty bowl in his right hand/wing that had once contained water a few seconds ago.

"Thanks for the wakeup call goose," growled Cyran in annoyance.

"What's the matter Boris?" asked Balto as he got over his shock of being woken up.

"The matter is that you are having same dream again," answered Boris as he tapped his left feathered finger on top of Balto's head.

'_Him too, huh?_' thought Cyran as he sat up from the floor.

A few nights ago Balto began to have weird dreams about wolves and ravens. In his dream, Balto was always being chased by a raven and it was depriving the wolf-dog from sleep. Cyran quickly raised his arms up to protect his face as Balto stood up and began to shake the water out of his fur. Cyran let out a sigh as he lowered his arms from his face while he frowned in displeasure.

"Sorry Cyran," said Balto in apology.

"No…its fine, I always like waking up in the morning with cold water being splashed on me." Cyran muttered in sarcasm.

Balto gave Cyran a tired smile before he turned his attention on Boris again with a frown appearing on his muzzle.

"So what if I was?" said Balto before he flopped back down on the ship's deck. "It was just a dream."

"Ha!" scoffed Boris in disbelief. "This 'just a dream' is keeping you from a decent sleep. And if your eyes get any droopier you'll have to keep them open with toothpicks."

Cyran watched as Boris stuck his finger under Balto's top right eyelid to prove his point. Balto was starting to become annoyed with his snow goose friend as he raised his head up from his paws.

"Boris, they'll stop drooping if you just go away and let me get some rest."

As he said this, Balto shoved Boris away with his paw before lying his head back down on the ground. Cyran began to feel sorry for his friend and decided to help Balto out.

"He's right Boris. Just give him a little more time to rest."

"Wrong!" shouted Boris as he jabbed a finger at both Cyran and Balto. "You and Balto won't be getting any rest. Not while you're dreams hang around you two like…dark cloud."

Cyran's eyes widened at what Boris had said before he turned his head away from the goose.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Cyran in denial.

"Don't try to pretend that we don't know Cyran," said Balto as he glanced up at the 15 year old. "You've been having nightmares much longer than I've had ever since you've got here."

"How exactly have you known that I was having nightmares?" asked Cyran as he looked down at Balto with a frown on his face.

"You're always panting and moaning in your sleep," answered Balto bluntly before he glanced at the snow goose. "As for you Boris, I hate it when you get dramatic."

"How else to reach you?" questioned Boris in frustration before he grabbed the sides of Balto's face as he forced the wolf-dog to look at him. "I'm telling you Boy Chick, if you keep having same dream again and again it means something!"

After Boris had said those words, Cyran began to go into deep thought.

'_Could Boris be right?_' thought Cyran to himself. '_Could my dreams be telling me something about my past?_'

Suddenly, Cyran's thoughts were cut short when Balto started to speak with Boris again.

"Boris, dreams don't mean anything they're just…dreams," said Balto before he let out a yawn.

Cyran also found himself yawning as he stretched out his arms to loosen up the muscles that have tightened up during his sleep while the blanket fell off his shoulders. Balto soon climbed up onto his paws after his yawn and started making his way over to the railing of the boat.

"Now, do you and Cyran want to come along with me?" asked Balto as he set his front paws on the railing. "I have to go check on Jenna."

"Sure," said Cyran as he stood up and walked over to Balto. "I haven't anything planed today anyways."

Balto smiled at the 15 year old before jumping over the railing of the boat and landing on the sand of the beach below. Cyran followed after Balto as he landed on the sand before he looked up at Boris who was still on the boat.

"You gonna come, or what?" asked Cyran as he went to catch up with Balto.

"Of course I come," replied Boris before he jumped off the boat and began to follow after Balto and Cyran. "I'm not finished nagging you two yet!"

'_Sheesh,_' thought Cyran in sarcasm. '_This bird just doesn't know when to give it a rest._'

The group walked together for a while before Balto asked Cyran about his dream.

"So Cyran, what exactly was your dream about?"

Cyran hesitated for a moment before he answered the wolf-dog's question.

"Well…I'm not really sure how to describe it to you guys, but I'll try my best to explain. My dream always starts out with me being chased by these winged beings that would shoot arrows at me. But my dream last night changed. I found myself being surrounded by this thick veil of mist and in the middle of my dream I was facing this shadow that was in the shape of a wolf. I soon woke up after Boris dumped cold water on both of us."

"Hmm…" Balto hummed thoughtfully before he spoke. "Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much. After all, it was just a dream."

"Hah!" scoffed Boris as he cut into the conversation. "If Cyran's dream was 'just a dream' and if dreams mean nothing, then how come your dreams always have raven and pack of wolves, huh, why not pickled herring?"

"Because herring would be in one of your dreams, not mine." Balto answered.

"Ditto that," said Cyran in agreement.

"Exactly," continued Boris. "Raven and wolves have meaning only to you!"

Cyran rolled his eyes at the goose and was about to say something when Boris suddenly gasped as he came to a stop.

"What's wrong?" asked Cyran as he and Balto stopped beside the snow goose.

"Balto, Cyran, look!" exclaimed Boris as he pointed in front of them "On totem pole!"

Cyran looked at what the goose was pointing at and saw the totem pole that he would sometimes pass with Balto whenever they walked to Nome together.

"Yeah, what about it?" questioned Cyran in an uninterested tone of voice as he stared at the carvings that were etched into the totem pole.

"Well look, there is raven and wolf!" exclaimed Boris as he grabbed some fur from Balto's chest and pulled the wolf-dog forward to look at the white wolf carving that sat at the bottom of the totem pole.

Cyran frowned in thought as he stared hard at the totem pole in front of him.

'_He's right,_' thought Cyran as he stared at the raven that sat on top of the totem pole.

As the teenager looked up at the raven he began to have a feeling that the totem carving was staring straight at him.

"Calm down Boris," spoke Balto as he straightened himself up once the snow goose had let go of his fur. "There's also a fox, a wolverine…"

"Oi, such scary creatures," interrupted Boris as he stared at the wolverine carving on the totem pole. "They should be living…well, far away from me."

Cyran and Balto frowned at the goose in annoyance before the wolf-dog continued on with what he was saying.

"And a bear, and a caribou," finished Balto as he continued walking forward. "They're just wood carvings Boris."

"Yes, yes I know," said Boris as Cyran walked passed him. "Human's use them to tell stories, but of what, I don't know."

"Well just don't think about it too much," said Cyran as he turned to look back at Boris. "Otherwise you'll get a major headache and wind up forgetting your name."

"Very funny Cyran," muttered Boris in sarcasm.

"I thought so," said Cyran with a smirk.

Boris frowned before he suddenly perked up when a thought suddenly came knocking into his head.

"Balto!" called Boris as he caught up with Cyran and the wolf-dog who had stopped at his call. "Maybe seeing rave and wolf on totem pole is making you dream something very important."

This caught Cyran's and Balto's interest as the two looked back at the totem pole before sharing a glance at each other.

"Like what?" asked Balto as he turned to look at the goose.

"Like something you forgot," started Boris as he took hold of Balto's left ear while he whispered into it. "Or something you are supposed to know."

After hearing what Boris had said, Cyran began to really think about his dreams.

'_Maybe my dreams _are_ telling me about my past,_' thought Cyran with a frown.

As for Balto, the wolf-dog showed exasperation on his face before he pulled his ear out of Boris's grasp. He continued to make his way to Nome with Cyran and Boris walking on either side of him.

"Look Boris, all I know is, is that totem pole marks the short cut to Jenna's place and that's good enough for me."

"Oi, such stubbornness," said Boris in irritation.

Cyran turned to glance back at the totem pole. The raven was the one carving that really drew Cyran's attention to it, for it quickly reminded him of the raven that he had followed to Nome a few days back.

'_Maybe that raven knows something about my past,_' thought Cyran as he became determined to know what his dream was trying to tell.

The trio soon entered Nome. They were sticking to the back allies as they traveled to Jenna's house.

"So what do you think Jenna would want to do today?" asked Cyran out of curiosity.

"Well it all depends on how she's feeling," answered Balto as he looked up at the teenager beside him.

"Oh right," said Cyran. "You did say that Jenna was…"

The teenager was suddenly interrupted when he and his two friends suddenly heard a loud barking ahead of them.

Running towards the trio was a grey and white Scottish terrier. Around the small terrier's neck was a green and yellow pattern scarf. Cyran frowned as he watched the terrier running towards him before he turned to look at Boris and Balto.

"What's got him all up in a twist?" asked Cyran as he and his two friends stopped walking.

"Don't know," answered Balto with a shrug as he looked up at the teenager.

The terrier quickly went into a skid as he tried to stop, but the snow that was still left on the ground made it impossible to do so. The little pooch slid for a moment before he finally stopped when he bumped into Balto's front left leg. The terrier lay on the ground for a few minutes before he finally collected himself.

"Ah, there you are laddies!" exclaimed the terrier in a Scottish accent before he started bouncing and running around in excitement. "I've been, smellin' all over for ya!"

Cyran, Balto and Boris watched the little dog bouncing around in confusion and annoyance.

"Looks like someone's high on caffeine today," voiced Cyran to himself.

"Would you stop with the bouncing and make with the talking!" shouted Boris angrily while he held his head as he tried to block out the dog's barking. "I'm getting dizzy."

"Yeah Scotty, where's the fire?" asked Cyran in confusion.

The terrier panted for a second before he started talking again as he answered Cyran's question.

"The stork…has landed," said the terrier before he started running around the trio. "I repeat…the stork has landed!"

Cyran's heart gave a great leap after he heard what the terrier had said.

"No…way," voiced the teenager as a large smile spread out over his face.

"Jenna?" voiced Balto before he took off while knocking over the terrier in the process.

The terrier rolled along the ground for a moment before he picked himself up and started following after Balto. Cyran was about to chase after them, but was stopped by Boris who was clearly confused at this point.

"What stork?" asked the snow goose as he began to scratch his head "I thought we were talking about raven?"

Cyran rolled his eyes at the goose: "Boris, don't you remember what a stork means?"

Boris's eyes widened in realization at what Cyran had just said to him.

"Oh boy, that stork!" exclaimed Boris before he took off running. "I'm coming Balto!"

Cyran ran ahead of the goose as he followed Balto and the terrier. The 15 year old quickly caught up with the wolf-dog before slowing down to a walk once they reached Jenna's house. The terrier quickly stopped barking as he sat on the ground with his chest puffed out in pride. Cyran and Balto walked past the terrier as they headed over to the shed. Cyran stopped a few feet from the shed with Balto stopping for a second to look at the teenager in confusion.

"You should go in first," said Cyran with a smile.

Balto smiled back at the 15 year old before he took in a deep breath and made his way to the door of the shed. Cyran watched Balto for a second before he quickly turned when he heard panting coming up from behind him. Boris came running up to Cyran, looking exhausted.

"Did…did I miss anything?" asked Boris.

"Not really," answered Cyran with a chuckle. "Come on, Balto already went in to check on Jenna."

The two quietly walked over to the shed's open door. Cyran and Boris slowly poked their heads in to see Jenna and Balto nuzzling each other. Jenna was lying in her basket and from the basket came the whimpers of her new born pups.

"Look at me," said Boris with pride. "I'm an uncle."

Cyran smiled down at the goose before he heard Balto gently calling to him.

"You can come on in Cyran."

Cyran looked at Balto in surprise before turning his gaze on Jenna who just smiled at him. Cyran slowly walked into the shed and knelt down beside Balto as he looked into the basket to see six new born pups. All the pups looked exactly like Jenna, except for one pup that looked a lot like Balto. All the pups were suckling milk from their mother as they would let out a small whimper once in a while.

"Wow," voiced Cyran as he looked at Jenna. "Jenna they're absolutely beautiful. You and Balto should be proud to have six health pups in your litter."

"We are," said Jenna with a smile.

Cyran smiled back at the female husky before winching in surprise when he heard the familiar bark of the terrier that had entered the shed. The 15 year old turned to glare at the small dog in annoyance.

"Boris, if you please?"

The goose happily complied as he back kicked the terrier out of the door. The terrier fell behind a wooden fence of an alley as Cyran heard the dog crash land in some trashcans.

"Thank you," said Cyran in gratitude.

"Don't you think that was going a little over board?" asked Balto.

"Don't worry," said Cyran in reassurance. "That terrier's pretty plucky so he'll be alright."

Balto frown for a second, but he soon smiled when Jenna started nuzzling him again. It was a happy day for everyone as they spent time looking down at Balto's and Jenna's six new pups.

On the Tundra

Miles from Nome something else was happening. A young female white wolf was running across the tundra at an incredible speed. The she-wolf bounded across the tundra for a while before dodging sideways to avoid a bullet that had been shot at her. The reason for this is that the she-wolf was being chased by a hunter who wanted to kill her. The she-wolf ran for a long time until she came to a thick forest where she knew that she'll be safe. The she-wolf made a leap of faith towards the underbrush. A loud gunshot sounded throughout the air as birds flew up into the sky in a panic. Everything became silent again with only the sound of the wind blowing through the trees and across the tundra.

To be continued

Hey guys, here's another chapter for you to check out. I hope you like it.

White Hunter, howling out to you and the spirits!


	5. Chapter 5

Changing the Heart of a Wolf

A she-wolf comes to Nome

3 days have passed since the birth of Balto and Jenna's six pups. Cyran was given the honor of being an uncle alongside Boris which the 15 you old happily accepted with open arms. We now find the teenager on Balto's boat as he was just waking up from a goodnights sleep. For three days Cyran hadn't been plagued by nightmares, which was a big brake for the young teenager.

The 15 year old let out a yawn as he stretched out his muscles that had tightened up in his body while he slept. Balto had already woken up long before Cyran and had gone on ahead to check up on Jenna and their pups. Cyran stood up and started walking out onto the deck of the boat as he looked out at the world before him while the sun shone high within the sky.

"Well, looks like it's going to be a beautiful day today," voiced Cyran as he breathed in the cool air of the morning.

After letting out a long sigh, Cyran started to head out to meet up with Balto at Jenna's place. The teenager walked across the tundra while humming an unnamed tune along the way. It was a quiet walk for Cyran until it was interrupted by a loud 'caw' that sounded from high above his head. The teen quickly turned his eyes up towards the sky and saw, to his surprise, the raven. The bird was circling overhead as it cawed at him in what Cyran thought was urgency.

'_I wonder what's gotten that bird's tail feathers all up in a tangle?_' thought Cyran with a frown.

The raven circled one more time over Cyran's head before flying off towards the south of the tundra. Cyran became curious as to where the raven was going and decided to follow after it. The 15 year old chased after the raven for a while until he came to a hill that slopped 6ft downwards. At first there was nothing interesting to see down near the base of the slop until Cyran saw something red staining the grass. Cyran frowned as he stared down at the red stains that dotted the ground below the base of the hill. The 15 year old decided to check it out as he slowly slid down the hill to take a closer look. As Cyran came closer to the red stains a powerful iron smell hit the teenager's nose.

"Blood," voiced Cyran when he instantly recognized both the stains on the ground and the smell in the air.

Cyran began to have a bad feeling deep within the pit of his stomach as he stared down at the blood stained trail before him. The teen then heard the raven cawing out to him as he turned to see the black bird standing on the ground 10ft away from him. The raven cawed again before it turned and began to hop towards a white furry lump that was lying on the ground. Cyran quickly bolted towards the white lump as the raven took to the air again when the 15 year old came running towards it. Cyran slowly came to a stop beside the lump before kneeling down on the ground to get a better look at it. The 15 year old teenager looked down at the thing in front of him and what he saw surprised him.

Lying in front of Cyran was a pure white she-wolf that had a bullet wound on her back left leg, which ran horizontally across. The wound wasn't deep and Cyran couldn't see the bullet anywhere within the flesh.

"The bullet must have only grazed the surface of the fur and flesh," muttered Cyran as he looked at the wound for a second before returning his gaze back towards the she-wolf's face.

The 15 year old saw that the she-wolf's jaws were partly opened with her eyes clamped tightly shut as if she was trying block out the pain that was burning throughout her wounded back leg.

"Looks like you had a bit of a run in with a hunter, huh girl?" questioned Cyran as he looked down at the she-wolf.

He slowly stretched his right hand out and was about to touch the wolf when the she-wolf's eyes, which were shown to be a sky blue color, suddenly shot open before she jumped up onto her paws and lunged towards Cyran. The teenager quickly pulled his hand back before dodging away from the she-wolf when the female tried to clamp her jaws down on the young 15 year old boy's left arm. Cyran rolled a few feet away from the wolf before turning around to glare at her.

"Hey, what's your deal?" growled Cyran angrily as he glowered at the she-wolf.

The wolf snarled as she glared right back at Cyran: "I was only defending myself, human."

"Does defending yourself also mean killing someone who is trying to help you?" questioned Cyran with a frown.

"I don't need anyone's help human," growled the she-wolf. "That also leads me to a few questions for you. How are you able to understand me and how did you find me so easily?"

"The answer to your first question is…I don't know how I can understand you and as for the second question you can thank the raven," answered Cyran as he calmly pointed up towards the sky. "That bird was the one who led me to you."

The she-wolf instantly stopped growling as she stared at Cyran in shock.

"Did you just say 'raven'?" asked the white wolf.

"Yeah, I did" replied Cyran with a nod of his head.

Suddenly, the raven cawed over she-wolf's and teenager's heads as if it were backing Cyran up on his word. The she-wolf frowned as she glanced up at the raven for a few moments before looking back at Cyran who had his arms crossed over his chest with a large smirk on his face.

"Okay then Mr. Smarty pants," said the she-wolf slowly. "Answer me this question. Why exactly did you follow that black bird?"

"I was curious to see what that bird was so distressed about," answered Cyran bluntly. "And now that I've found out I guess I'll just take my leave since you don't want my help."

With that said Cyran began to turn away but quickly stopped when the she-wolf spoke again.

"Wait!" called the she-wolf.

Cyran turned around to look back at her with one eyebrow raised up in curiosity. The she-wolf paused for a second before she quietly let out a sigh of defeat.

"I'll let you help me on one condition, and that's for you to not try anything funny with me while my back is turned on you. Do you understand, human?"

"Crystal clear," replied Cyran with a nod of his head. "Now…follow me, I might know a place that will keep you safe and hidden while you heal from your wound."

Cyran soon turned away from the she-wolf and began to walk slowly in the same direction that he had come from with the white wolf limping right behind him. It took about half an hour until Cyran and the she-wolf came to an old beat up boat that wasn't too far from Balto's home.

The boat was a wooden row boat that was flipped over with its bottom facing upwards. There was a medium sized hole on the left side of the row boat that created a decent size entrance for the she-wolf to crawl into. The paint on the boat was chaffing off through all the years of facing all kinds of weather throughout its life.

"Well…this is the place," said Cyran with a shrug. "It's nothing fancy, but at least you'll be safe here until you're fully healed."

"I've slept in worse places than this," said the she-wolf as she limped towards the upturned boat.

The she-wolf slowly crawled into the medium size hole before curling up on the ground as she rested her head on her front paws.

"Alright, you just relax here for a bit," said Cyran as he knelt down to get eye level with the she-wolf. "I'll be back in a little bit to check up on you."

The she-wolf's only reply to Cyran's words was a huff as she closed her eyes and quickly went to sleep. Cyran watched the she-wolf for a second before he got up and started to make his way towards Nome again. It was a long walk towards the town, but Cyran didn't mind it too much for it gave him time to take a look at his surroundings a little even though there wasn't much to see. The 15 year old soon came upon the totem pole that marked the shortcut to Jenna's house. Cyran stopped in front of the totem as he stared long and hard at the animal carvings that were etched into the wooden pole, but the boy's full attention was mainly on the raven that sat on top of the totem.

'_I wonder if the raven and this totem are connected to each other,_' mussed Cyran.

The teen frowned at that thought for a second before he decided to continue on his way towards Jenna's house. The teenager jogged through town for a while before he finally slowed to a walk when he came to Jenna's home. Cyran walked towards the shed's door before stopping to knock on it.

"Who is it?" called Jenna's voice.

"It's me, Cyran," answered the 15 year old.

The door of the shed quickly opened and Cyran was greeted by Boris the snow goose.

"You're late," said the goose. "Where have you been?"

"Easy there feather duster, I just got a little side track that's all," said Cyran with a smile as he walked into the shed.

When the teenager walked into the shed he saw Balto and Jenna with their pups that were feeding off their mother's milk. Jenna was lying in her basket with Balto sitting beside her as he looked down at his and his mate's pups. Balto quickly heard Cyran's footsteps coming towards them before he turned to face the teenager with a smile on his muzzle.

"We were getting worried about you Cyran," said Balto.

"Sorry," said Cyran as he gave the couple an apologetic smile before he knelt down beside the basket.

The 15 year old teenager smiled as he looked down at the six pups that were cuddling up close to their mother. Cyran had grown very fond of the puppies, but the teenager's favorite pup out of the bunch was the sandy-grey furred female, Aleu. Cyran didn't know why he was so drawn to the pup, maybe because she looked more wolf than her father?

"Your pups are looking stronger as each day passes," complimented Cyran.

"Thank you Cyran," said Jenna with a smile. "It means a lot coming from you."

"So…when will your children open their eyes?" asked Cyran out of curiosity.

"Their eyes will open in about a few weeks," answered Balto. "You'll just have to be patient until then."

Cyran frowned as he displayed a humors look of displeasure. The teenager didn't like to wait but he knew better that there were something's that can't be rushed and one of those things was time. The teenager continued to look down at the six puppies for a few more minutes before he stood up.

"Well…I'm going to take a walk around Nome for a bit," said Cyran. "Do you want to join me Balto?"

"No thank you, I think I'll stay here with Jenna for a little bit longer." Balto declined gently.

"Okay," said Cyran in understanding before he turned to look at Boris. "What about you bird boy, do you want to come for a walk with me?"

"No thank you," said Boris. "I would rather stay here with Jenna and the puppies than go around town looking for trouble with you."

Jenna and Balto chuckled while the teenager shook his head at the snow goose out of amusement.

"Whatever float's your boat Bird Boy," said Cyran before he started making his way out of the shed. "I'll see you guys later back at the boat Balto."

"Alright," said the wolf/dog. "Just be sure you don't stay out to late after sunset."

"Don't worry I won't," reassured Cyran with a wave over his shoulder.

Balto watched as his human friend walked out of the shed before letting out a sigh after the teenager closed the shed door quietly behind him.

"Sometimes that boy worries me," voiced Balto.

"Well Cyran is a teenager," reasoned Jenna to her mate. "He's still learning."

"I know," said Balto as he turned to look at Jenna. "But I can't help but worry that Cyran is going to get him-self in trouble one of these days and I won't be there to help him."

"Well if he does get into trouble then he'll have to learn to get out of it himself," stated Boris as he entered the conversation. "The truth is Balto you won't be able to look after Cyran forever. He'll soon have to look after himself as he starts to make a living in this world."

Balto solemnly nodded his head in agreement to what the snow goose had said. One day Cyran will have to look after himself, but until that day comes Balto was willing to stay by the 15 year old boy's side for a while longer.

In the Streets of Nome

Cyran was walking through the streets of Nome with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans. He had a casual look on his face while he walked through the crowd of people before he turned into an alley. Cyran turned to look over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching him and saw no one was giving him a glance of suspicion.

'_Perfect,_' thought Cyran with a smirk.

The teenager quickly ran towards a stack of crates that were sitting beneath a low hanging roof. Cyran climbed up onto the crates before jumping to the low hanging roof. The teenager hadn't done roof jumping in a long time, but it didn't mean that he was rusty at it. Cyran began his fun as he started to jump from one roof to another for about half an hour before he finally came to his destination. The 15 year old stopped before kneeling down on the roof that he was standing on as he stared down at the selection of meat that were hanging outside the butcher's shop.

"Okay now…which piece of meat should I grab today," muttered Cyran thoughtfully.

The 15 year old teenager stared intensely at the pieces of meat that hung in front of his vision before one piece of meat caught his attention. A long rope of sausages was hanging on a hook that was a meter away from the butcher's window.

"Those sausages look good," voiced Cyran.

With his decision made, Cyran started to advance on his target. The 15 year old quietly jumped down from the roof he had been standing on a few minutes ago. Cyran snuck along the ground as he kept himself hidden in the shadows while he crept towards the rope of sausages. Cyran soon pressed himself up against the wall of the butcher's home with the rope of sausages just a few meters away from his shoulder. The teenager held his breath for a moment as he listened to hear the footsteps of the butcher to know if the old man was inside or not. When the 15 year old heard nothing from inside the shop he frowned in thought.

'_Maybe the old man stepped out for a while,_' thought Cyran to himself. '_Still…I need to be careful otherwise I'll wind up getting caught if I let one little slip mess this up._'

With that thought in mind, Cyran made sure to keep his senses on high alert as he got ready to grab the rope of sausages. His hand was nearly upon his target when he suddenly stopped reaching for it. Cyran frowned as he stared at the rope of sausages suspiciously before he began to sniff the air. The 15 year old took in a deep whiff before his nose caught a strange scent on the air and alarms quickly went off in his head.

'_Poison!_' thought Cyran as he quickly drew his hand back while he glared at not only the rope of sausages, but at all the other slabs of meat that hung outside the butcher's shop. '_That old man had poisoned all of these so that he wouldn't have to worry about losing any more of his meat supply._'

With a growl, Cyran turned away from his target and quickly made his way back up to the roof tops. He began to jump away from the butcher's shop as anger flowed throughout his veins.

'_So much for grabbing an easy meal at the butcher's place,_' thought Cyran with a grumble. '_Looks like I'll have to catch my own meal the hard way._'

With that thought in mind, Cyran started to make his way toward the outer borders of Nome.

A few minutes later on the tundra

The she-wolf still lay in the shadows of the small up turned row boat as she let out a content sigh. She had longed to find a place where she could rest and not have to worry about the hunter coming after her across the tundra all the time so it was a lucky break for her. Suddenly, the she-wolf quickly caught the sound of footsteps coming her way. The she-wolf lifted her head up from her paws as she turned towards the hole that made up the entrance as she watched to see who was coming towards her hiding place. The she-wolf soon relaxed when she saw that it was only the human teenager that had found her out on the tundra. The she-wolf frowned in suspicion as she watched the human come closer to her before her nose picked up the scent of rabbit on the young teenager. As the 15 year old came closer the she-wolf saw that the human was carrying four dead snow-shoe-hares that he had hanging over his left shoulder.

"You sure took your sweet time coming back here," said the she-wolf sarcastically.

"Hey, it's not easy in catching these jumpers," said Cyran as he unslung the rabbits from his shoulder as he held his catches out at arms-length.

The she-wolf only rolled her eyes at the human while a smirk appeared on her muzzle.

"You're one strange human," said the she-wolf. "One of the strangest I've ever encountered in my life."

"I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered by that comment of yours," said Cyran as he placed his kills down on the ground. "Here, these are for you."

The she-wolf's smirk disappeared from her muzzle when she heard what the teenager had said before looking down at the four rabbits that lay in front of her.

"F-for me?" voiced the she-wolf as she looked up at the 15 year old standing in front of her.

"Well…yeah," replied Cyran with a shrug of his shoulder. "After all, when you wolves get injured you tend to eat a lot to keep your strength up and rest a lot so that you can heal faster."

"Yes that is true," spoke the she-wolf hesitantly. "Thank you…um?"

"Cyran," said the 15 year old. "My name is Cyran."

"Well since we're going into introductions I might as well tell you my name," said the she-wolf as a smirk reappeared on her muzzle. "My name is Dakota and I'm the lowest rank member of my pack." That's when the smirk disappeared once again from the she-wolf's muzzle "Correction, I'm actually the last member of my deceased pack."

Cyran raised an eyebrow up in confusion: "Deceased, you mean as in…?"

Depression came over the she-wolf's, now known as Dakota, face while she nodded her head at Cyran.

"My clan was killed by a human and his group of hunters," spoke Dakota in a soft voice. "They took down all of my pack members and they still search for me…for I am the last of my tribe."

Cyran stared at Dakota for a moment before lowering his gaze down as he began to feel pity for the she-wolf in front of him.

'_It must have been hard for her to lose all of her pack members to a man that has a deep hatred for them,_' thought Cyran to himself before he looked back up at Dakota.

"You know," started Cyran. "You're welcome to stay with me and Balto for a while after you've healed."

"Who's Balto?" asked Dakota out of curiosity.

"My best friend," answered Cyran with a smile. "He's a wolf/dog who's friends with a Russian snow goose and two polar bear cubs. He's also mated to a pure breed she-husky and is the father of six pups."

Dakota stared at Cyran for a moment before shaking her head while letting a giggle escape her mouth.

"It's official," she said while rolling her eyes. "You are the strangest human I've ever met."

"Will you at least consider my offer?" asked Cyran.

"I'll think about it," replied Dakota with a smile.

With that said, Dakota took one of the rabbits that Cyran had caught for her from the pile and began to eat it. Cyran watched with a smile on his face as Dakota ate the rabbit that he had caught on the tundra. The teenager began to feel pride swell up within his chest as he felt that he did something good to help speed up the she-wolf's recovery. Cyran slowly stood up as he decided that it was time for him to leave, but was stopped by the she-wolf who suddenly spoke.

"Will you be coming back again?" asked Dakota.

Cyran turned around and smiled at the she-wolf: "I'll be coming back tomorrow to check up on you."

"Alright then," said Dakota with a smile. "See you tomorrow."

Cyran soon left after that as he headed back towards Nome again while hoping that tomorrow will come sooner so that he could see the white wolf, Dakota, again.

To be continued


End file.
